cow-lover speaks!â Theo said, his eyes flashing at Oliver.
âMoo,â Maggots added.
âWhat are you talking about?â Oliver asked. Theo was always looking for a reason to harass someone. His father, Grady, was a fairly notorious businessman in town, and kids at school knew that he was also fairly notorious when it came to punishing Theo. Which only made it harder to deal with Theo when he was being a jerk. âYouâre so stupid,â said Oliver.
Theo slapped the papers down flat on the desk in front of him.
âCheck it out,â Theo hissed in Oliverâs ear. âYouâre front-page material.â
In front of Oliver was the Sea Lion Ledger , the human kidsâ school newspaper. It had todayâs date on it. There were a bunch of articles laid out on the front page, but it only took Oliver a moment to see what Theo was talking about and, when he did, Oliver felt a sickening wave of worry. There, in the bottom left corner of the page, was a color photographâ¦of Oliverâs house. The heading read:
In Search of the VampiresâPart 1
A Photo Essay by Emalie Watkins
Below that were the first few lines of the article:
We all know the rumors, but what is the truth? Are there really vampires among us? In this exclusive story, we will search for evidence of the undead.
(Continued on page 7)
âCome on, turn the page,â Theo snapped, whipping the paper open.
Oliver watched, feeling like he might as well turn to dust. His thoughts were swirling. When he saw a four-photo spread of his houseâthe overturned dresser, the broken refrigerator, the peeling wallpaper, the putrid bathtubâOliver actually felt a moment of relief until he read the short article running beside the pictures:
This house at 16 Twilight Lane looks abandoned. But is it? Coming in next weekâs issue, my shocking photo of a real vampire who lives there.
âIââ Oliver began hoarsely.
Theo cut him off. âDude, this girl has been in your house. She knows about the vampires. Is your family a bunch of human-lovers, or what?â
âNo, weâI didnât know she knew we were vampiresââ Oliver froze, realizing what heâd just said.
And so did Theo. âWait, you knew this girl was in your house?â
âWell, Iââ
âAnd you let her get away?! Ha! If that was me, I wouldâve been likeââ Theo bared his teeth and lashed his head forward. âBang! Nosy human, dead human!â He shared a chuckle with Brent and Maggots. âBut not you, Oliver. Figures. Couldnât do it, could you?â
âUmââ Oliver had no idea what to say. He looked frantically around the room, as if there was anywhere else to go. The entire class had turned toward the conversation. Seth was slouching as low as he could in his chair.
And Theo kept making it worse. âYou know what I think,â he said, âI think you like this human.â
Snickers echoed around the room.
âNo, I donât,â Oliver muttered uselessly.
âWhatever,â Theo went on. âIf this girl has pictures of vampires, then I think she needs to get bit.â
âWe should find her,â Brent added.
âShe knows too much,â Theo finished.
âYum,â Maggots agreed, scratching at his hair.
Oliver knew that none of them had ever bitten a human. Theo claimed to have tasted human blood, but Oliver thought it was all talk. Stillâ¦
âHey, Oliver,â Theo went on, rubbing Oliverâs head. âWe can save a bite for you since you like her so much ââ
âShut up!â Oliver shouted, and leaped to his feet. He grabbed the surprised Theo by the tie and slammed him backward. The two launched into the air, hitting the back wall five feet off the ground and cracking the chalkboard.
âNo way!â Theo shouted hoarsely, Oliverâs forearm against his neck. âAre you defending the